A Comparison of Pleistocene Gastropod Distribution in Both Open Shore and Lagoon at Ash Shaibah South Jeddah, Western Saudi Arabia
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International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (IJITEE) ISSN: 2278-3075,Volume-8, Issue-7C2, May 2019 A Comparison of Pleistocene Gastropod Distribution in Both Open Shore and Lagoon at Ash Shaibah South Jeddah, Western Saudi Arabia Abdu M. Almassari, Mohammed Gameil ABSTRACT--- An exposed succession of raised beaches at the El-Sorogy, et al. (2014) studied two terraces of Late lagoon (5.5m) and the open shore (4.5m), at Ash Shu'aybah area, Pleistocene raised beaches in Rabigh area; It has a sequence 80 Km south of Jeddah City was studied from the Paleontologic of vertical coral reef layers. They identified 35 species of point of view. The focus was carried out on gastropods collected gastropods and 16 species of bivalves from the sequence. from two sites to study their diversity and abundance. The studied raised beach at the lagoon is divided into four distinct layers: They conclude that the fossils similarity between this study dolomitic algal limestone layer (1m); calcareous mudstone layer area and what is currently living in Indo-Pacific and the (2.5m); argillaceous limestone layer (1m); calcareous sandstone Mediterranean Atlantic. About 78% of the fossils have a layer (1m). The open shore raised beach is divided into four range from Pleistocene to Holocene. distinct layers: dolomitic limestone layer (2m decreasing Bantan et al. (2015), studied the lithology, fauna, and northward to 1m); limestone layer (1m increasing northward to environmental conditions of the Pleistocene raised beaches 2m); argillaceous limestone layer (1m); calcareous sandstone layer (0.5m). The calcareous sandstone layer has high diversity of the Jeddah coastal plain. They concluded that the coastal and abundance of gastropods. The study led to the identification plain of Jeddah consists of two featured strata. The lower of 80 gastropod species belonging to 58 genera, 29 families and 7 part is white limestone bed rich in corals (Porites sp., faviids orders. The succession at the lagoon has more species (76 sp.) and foraminifers assemblage (Amphistegina sp., species) than the succession at the open shore (27 species), some Neorotalia calcar). These species indicate that the species are common between the two sites. This is due to the sedimentation in a high-energy, open shore environment difference in energy (currents and waves) and substrate type. The species Conus auricomus is recorded in the Red Sea for the first such as reef crest and fore reef, between 5–10 meters. The time. upper layer is calcareous clay bed is rich in molluscs, Index Terms - Pleistocene, Macrofossils, Gastropods, Ash echinoids, branching corals, and the benthic foraminifera Sha'ibah, MIS 5e, Lagoon, Open shore, Conus auricomus sp., (Elphidium striatopunctatum, Agglutinella robusta, Varidentella neostriatula) suggesting sedimentation in back- I. INTRODUCTION reef, lagoonal environments. The top of the calcareous clay A. Abbreviation: layer is truncated, but in some area, it was covered by fluvial sediments, which indicates a rapid regression in sea-level at Kyr: thousand years; BP: Before Present; Ma: million the end of MIS 5e. years; Km: Kilometer; m: meter; mm: millimeter; L1: According to Manaa et al., (2016) the Late Pleistocene Location 1; L2: Location 2; U/Th: Uranium-thorium dating; raised beaches has 5 km wide flat outcrops, along with the sp.: species; MIS: Marine Isotope Stages. Saudi Arabia coast. The consistent elevation of these raised B. Previous Works: beaches is due to tectonic stability of the sea coast at the In western Saudi Arabia particularly around Jeddah city, southern and central Saudi Arabia for at least 125 kyr BP, the marine terraces form a flat platform that is raised 3-6 m and the coral reef terraces are consistent with the Marine above sea level. It is poorly exposed because of a covering Isotope Stages (MIS 5e), which reached a peak of 6–9 m of fossil-rich sand, sabkha and alluvial deposits (Moore and above present sea level. Al Rehaili. 1989). Recently, Abu Zeid and Bantan (2018), studied the Manaa et al., (2011), carried out a U/Th dating of the Red Pleistocene raised reefal limestone south Sharm Obhur, Sea, they concluded that average age of coral ranges from north of Jeddah city. They recorded 90 species of 119.9 to 122 kyr BP, it is within the age of the last gastropods. They divided the section into two parts. The interglacial (MIS 5e at 128–116 kyr BP) when coastline was lower part is white limestone, and no specific species prevail 6 m higher than now. in this layer. The upper part is calcareous mud rich in gastropods, that match to the last Marine Isotope Stages (MIS 5e). Between the two strata an erosional surface indicating regression of sea level through the deposition of Revised Manuscript Received on May 29, 2019. the interval MIS 5e. Abdu M. Almassari, Department of Petroleum Geology and Sedimentology, Faculty of Earth Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Geological Survey, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.(E- mail: [email protected]) Prof. Mohammed Gameil, Department of Petroleum Geology and Sedimentology, Faculty of Earth Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (E-mail: [email protected]) Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering Retrieval Number: G10010587C219/19©BEIESP 1 & Sciences Publication International Conference on Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Engineering & Technology (ICMPET-19) |24th -25th May, 2019 | KITS, Markapur, Andhra Pradesh, India white color on the weathered surface, yellowish gray on the fresh surface, including small borings, Echinoid spines, and colonial corals at the top. The second layer is fine grained calcareous mudstone (thickness: 2.5 m) overlying the hard limestone, it is dark brown, rich in coral fragments and dominated by Fungia sp. and other colonial corals, bivalves and large gastropods at the top. The third layer is hard argillaceous limestone (1 m), it is grayish white, composed mainly of thinly branching Acropora sp., highly bored and cavernous, it is rich in bivalves dominated by Tridacna sp., Spondylus sp., and Oysters, the gastropods are found at the top. The fourth layer is calcareous sandstone (1 m), it is brownish gray, very rich in gastropods and thinly branching corals (fig. 2). Figure 1: Map showing the location of the study area. The second section of the open shore at Ash Shu'aybah area (L2), consists mainly of four distinct layers with a Many studies conducted the sedimentological, thickness about 4.5 meters, it was measured at the geomorphological and mineralogical aspects of raised coordinate (20° 48' 41" N and 39° 25' 35" E). The section is beaches (Nesteroff 1960; Dawood et al. 2013). composed of (from bottom to top) hard dolomitic limestone, The main aim of this work is to study Pleistocene yellowish white color in the fresh surface, dark gray color in gastropod distribution in two different localities, and the weather surface. It contains many echinoid spines and effect of environments on diversity and abundance of poorly preserved casts and molds of gastropods and species, in Ash Sha'ibah al Masdūdah (open shore and bivalves. The thickness is 2 meters but decreases northward lagoon), about 80 km south of Jeddah. to 1 meter. The second layer is fine grained limestone dark brown color in the weathered surface, grayish white color in II. STUDY AREA the fresh surface with algae, bivalves and large gastropods at The area of the study is located south of border guard- the top. The thickness is 1 meter but increases northward to center of Ash Sha'ibah al Masdūdah, 80 Km south of Jeddah 2 meters. The third layer is hard argillaceous limestone with City. Two sites were selected representing two different thickness 1 m; it is white in color, cavernous, and rich in environments lagoon has coordinates (20° 48' 55" N and 39° poorly preserved fossils of gastropods and branching corals. 25' 53" E) and, open shore has coordinates (20° 48' 41" N The thickness is 1 meter. The fourth layer is calcareous and 39° 25' 35" E), the distance between the two sites is sandstone (0.5 m); it is brownish gray in color, very rich in about 700 meters (Fig. 1). The area is composed of a gastropods and colonial corals (fig. 3). carbonate platform that rises about 5.5 meters above the present shoreline. The thickness of the raised beaches varies between the two locations. III. MATERIALS AND METHODS Several field trips were carried out in the study area. About 535 gastropod specimens were collected from the exposed surface. The collected gastropods were washed and cleaned by water; they are later dried and studied from the taxonomic view point. IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. Lithology and Stratigraphy: Previous studies dealt with the age dating of the coral reef terraces at the eastern part of Red Sea using the U/Th series, indicated an age of 140–110 kyr BP according to Plaziat et al. (2008); 235–128 kyr BP according to Dawood et al. (2013); 125–121 kyr BP according to Bantan et al. (2015); and 122–119 kyr BP according to Manaa et al. (2016). These ages belong to the last interglacial MIS 5e (Late Pleistocene). The studied section at the lagoon of Ash Sha'ibah al Figure 2: Stratigraphic column of location 1(lagoon). Masdūdah (L1), consists mainly of four distinct layers with thickness about 5.5 meters, it is about 75 meters far from the current beach, it was measured at the coordinate (20° 48' 55" N and 39° 25' 53" E). The measured section is composed of (from bottom to top) hard algal limestone (1 m), it is grayish Published By: